Aksum's currency served as a vessel of propaganda demonstrating the kingdom's wealth and promoting the national religion (first polytheistic and later Oriental Christianity). It also facilitated the Red Sea trade on which it thrived.[2] The coinage has also proved invaluable in providing a reliable chronology of Aksumite kings due to the lack of extensive archaeological work in the area.[3]

Though the issuing of minted coins didn't begin until around 270, metal coins may have been used in Aksum centuries prior to centralized minting. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions that the Aksumite state imported brass (Greek: ορείχαλκος, translit.orikhalkos), "which they use[d] for ornaments and for cutting as money", and they imported "a little money (denarion) for [use by] foreigners who live there." It can be inferred, therefore, that early Aksumite kings, located on the international trading waters of the Red Sea, recognized the utility of a standardized currency for facilitating both domestic and international trade.[4]

Though Aksumite coins are indigenous in design and creation, some outside influences encouraging the use of coins is undeniable. By the time coins were first minted in Aksum, there was widespread trade with Romans on the Red Sea; Kushana or Persian influence also cannot be ruled out. Roman, Himyarite, and Kushana coins have all been found in major Aksumite cities, however, only very small quantities have been attested and the circulation of foreign currency seems to have been limited.[5] Though South Arabian kingdoms had also minted coins, they had already gone out of use by the time of certain Aksumite involvement in South Arabia under GDRT, and only very rarely produced electrum or gold denominations (silver mainly in Saba' and Himyar, while bronze in Hadhramaut), making influence unlikely. The major impetus, however, was not emulation but economical; the Red Sea and its coasts had always been an international trade area and coins would greatly facilitate trade and wealth in the now "world power."[6] Despite these influences, the coins were of genuinely indigenous design, and foreign influences were relatively weak and few in number.[7]

Gold seems to have been acquired from a number of sources. Gold probably came from Sasu (southern Sudan), as well as more nearby Ethiopian sources, though the latter isn't well documented for the north. A gold trade from the southern areas of Ethiopia such as the medieval province/kingdom of Innarya has been attested from the 6th century (i.e. from the writings of Cosmas Indicopleustes) and continued through James Bruce's day (18th century). Gold also came from more northerly sources such as Gojjam, Beja lands, and what is now Eritrea, though the latter two are less certain.[8] However, a recent gold exploration assay in Eritrea has found significant gold deposits at Emba Derho, and deposits are also attested at Zara in central-western Eritrea.[9]

While local sources of gold are attested during the Aksumite era, silver seems to have been rarer in Aksum. No mention of silver mines in the region exist until the 15th and 16th centuries. Though silver was imported as attested by the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea,[10] given the preponderance of silver coins, it could not have been the only source of silver in Aksum. Furthermore, a significant number of the silver coins contain gold inlays (presumably to increase the value), which would have been unnecessary if silver were so rare that it had to be mainly imported.[8] Silver may have been obtained from the refinement of gold, which sometimes occurs naturally with silver in an alloy called electrum.[3]Copper and bronze do not seem to have existed locally in the Aksumite empire, though they were noted as imports in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.[8]

Though the gold coins were certainly the most valuable issue, followed by the silver one, the exact relationship between the three issues (gold, silver, and bronze) is not known. The supply of gold was closely controlled by the Aksumite state, as noted by Cosmas Indicopleustes, and other precious metals were undoubtedly also closely controlled, allowing the Aksumite state to ensure the usage of its currency.[11]

The quality of the Aksumite coins were also closely controlled, usually of high purity. For example, the lowest purity of gold recorded thus far for Aphilas is 90 percent.[12] Early issues were often very close to their theoretical weights, and some were even over.[13]) However, the weight of the coins tended to decrease over time (though not continuously or uniformly).[3][12] This may have reflected a desire to conform to the Diocletian monetary reform of 301, when the aureus was decreased from 1/60 of a pound to 1/72. Despite decreases in weight, the purity of the gold was largely maintained, even by later kings. The relative abundance of Aksumite coins as well as the many that have yet to be found[14] indicate that Aksum must have had access to large quantities of gold.[12]

The coins were often inscribed in Greek, as much of its trade was with the "Graecised Orient." Later inscriptions made more use of Ge'ez, the language of the Aksumites, perhaps indicating a decline in its use for more international trade (i.e. with Rome and India). The obverse of the coins would always feature an image of the king (almost always in profile) wearing either a crown or helmet/regnal headcloth. The headcloth had some image perhaps representing pleats, rays, or sunburst in the front, as well as the tied end of a cloth or fillet to hold the helmet or headcloth in place. Most coins also included an inscription (usually in Greek) meaning "King of Aksum" or King of the Aksumites" (Basileus AXWMITW).[11] However, many coins were also minted anonymously (or even posthumously), especially during the 5th century.[3] Inscriptions on the coins could include a bisi name ("man of," Ge'ez: bə'əsyä ብእስየ[15][16]) or an epithet (beginning with Əllä, Ge'ez: እለ "he who") in addition to the king's personal name. Bisi names were used more often in conjuncture with personal names on earlier coins, while the epithets were more common in later years, being the only inscribed name in a few sources.[3] Greek text was used in conjunction with Ge'ez script inscriptions, but was the only language used on the gold coins, with the exception of the Ge'ez language coins of Wazeba and MHDYS. Over time, the Greek used on the coins (gold, silver and bronze) deteriorated, indicative of Aksum's decline. Moreover, beginning with MHDYS for bronze coins and Wazeba for silver coins, Ge'ez gradually replaced Greek on the legends.[12]

Aksumite coins used a number of mottoes throughout the period in which they were minted, beginning in the early 4th century. Around this time, numerous anonymous bronze coins with simply Βασιλεύς (Basileus, "King") on the obverse were minted by either King Ezana or one of his successors. The coins bore the first example of an Aksumite motto on the reverse, "May this please the people" (Greek: ΤΟΥΤΟΑΡΕΣΗΤΗΧΩΡΑ). It was later written in unvocalized Ge'ez as "ለሐዘበ ፡ ዘየደአ" LʾḤZB ZYDʾ and under King Kaleb also "ለሀገረ ፡ ዘየደአ" LHGR ZYDʾ, "may this please the city [country]." Similar mottoes were used by other kings. Coins of the early 7th-century Emperor Armah had inscribed on the back "ፈሰሐ ፡ ለየከነ ፡ ለአዘሐበ" FŚḤ LYKN LʾḤZB (vocalization: ፍሥሓ ፡ ለይኲን ፡ ለአሕዛብ ፡ fiśśiḥā la-yikʷin la-'aḥzāb, "Let the people be glad," lit. "Gladness let there be to the peoples").[17]

Coins of king Endybis, 227-235CE. British Museum. The left one reads in Greek "BACIΛEYC AΧWMITW", "Emperor of Axum". The right one reads in Greek: ΕΝΔΥΒΙϹ ΒΑCΙΛΕΥϹ, "King Endybis".

Endubis, the first known Aksumite king to mint coins, focused almost entirely on his image on both the obverse and reverse. The images were of his head and upper half of his chest in profile, wearing a regnal headcloth or helmet and abundant jewelry. In addition to inscribing his regnal name, Endybis also noted his "bisi name, a practice continued by his early successors, but often missing in later coins. The bisi name was a sort of tribal affiliation or "ethnikon" (i.e. a reference to the king's lineage) that was different for every king.[11] Endybis also emphasized his religion through the pre-Christian symbol of the disk and crescent as a propaganda method (a purpose which the coins already served). A second motif used by Enybis and continued by following coins was that of two (though sometimes one in later years) ears of barley or wheat around the image of his head in profile. Though no inscriptional evidence exists, given its prominent position around the image of the king, the two ears of barley (or wheat) may have been representative symbols of the Aksumite state.[2] Though later coins would be smaller, Endybis chose the Roman aureus to standardize Aksumite coin weights against, with gold issues at half-aureus around 2.70 grams (more precisely, the theoretical weight may have been 2.725g).[11][12]

Whereas all of Endubis's coins feature the king with a headcloth or helmet, Aphilas's coins show the king wearing an impressive high crown on top of the headcloth. The crown featured colonnades of arches supporting high spikes, on top of which rested large discs of unidentified composition. In addition to the crown and headcloth, Aphilas's coins included further images of regalia, such as a spear, a branch with berries, the depiction of the arms, the addition of tassels with fringes to the imperial robe, and more jewelry, such as amulets and bracelets. Despite this innovation, Aphilas continued to use the image of himself in the regnal headcloth in some coins, sometimes as the reverse, while his crowned image is only found on the obverse.[18]

One of his issues included his frontal image on the obverse, which ended with his reign and was only revived by the late kings. Two other minting features of Aphilas were also abandoned by later rulers. One of these was the use of just the inscription "King Aphilas" as the reverse of a coin, the only purely epigraphical side ever used on an Aksumite coin. The other was his use of a single ear of barley or wheat as a reverse, though his use of two ears circling around the king's image continued.[13]

Aphilas introduced a number of different standards for all three metals, some of which lasted through to the 7th century, while the use of others ended with his reign. His new gold coins (issued in conjunction with the older) of a quarter aureus and eighth aureus were soon abandoned (each are known from only one specimen), and 1/16 aureus coins have been found, though these are more likely to be deliberate debasements to increase profit (Aksumite gold was generally very pure, however).[13][19] Aphilas's silver coin, however, issued at half the weight of the former, became the new Aksumite standard for silver up until the end of coinage. The older coin was presumably more valuable than needed, and the new coin remedied the problem. Aphilas's bronze issue, however, was instead doubled to 4.83 grams. The coin's rarity may attest to its quick withdrawal from the market, as is assumed with his quarter-aureus. These two issues are the only one of Aphilas's issues to portray him frontally, rather than in profile.[13]

During Ezana's reign a major change in both the Aksumite kingdom and its coinage took place as a result of the change of the official religion to Christianity, one of the first states ever to do so. While Ezana's coins in the first half of his reign are almost identical to those of Aphilas, barring minimal weight reductions, those of his second half employ revolutionary designs. With his conversion to Christianity, Ezana began to feature the Cross on his coins, the first time the Christian cross had ever been featured in coinage in the world. Some of his gold Christian coins are of the weight before Constantine I's weight reform in 324, indicating a conversion before this date or perhaps a few years after, as the Aksumite coinage may not have changed weights immediately.[20] Along with the adoption of the Cross on his coins came, of course, the abandonment of the star and crescent symbol on the coins. Later Christian coins reflect the adoptment of the 4.54 g standard by Constantine, with theoretical weights in Aksumite coins likewise dropping to 1.70 g for the gold coins.[21]

Coins of Ezana without any symbol at all have also been found, along with similar symboless coins of his father, Ousanas. These may reflect a transition in the religion in Aksum when Frumentius was influencing Ezana's father and gathering Christians in the country, giving weight to the writings of Rufinus.[21] The lack of symbol altogether may reflect an uncertainty as how best to exhibit the change in religion of the Aksumite state.[22]

The gold coin weighed on average 2.5-2.8 grams and was 15–21 mm in diameter at the start of issue, in 270-300. This would make it half an Aureus which weighed 4.62-6.51 grams at the time of Probus. The issue of Israel (570-600) weighed 1.5 grams and was 17 mm in diameter. The Roman solidus of Maurice Tiberius was 4.36-4.47 grams. A majority of these coins were found in South Arabia and not Aksum. The name is unknown so it is referred to as an AU Unit.

Also starting with Endubis these coins were 2.11-2.5 grams in weight which is half the weight of a Roman antoninianus of 3.5-4.5 grams. A Denarius in the early 3rd century was 2.5-3.00 grams of 52 percent or less of silver, but the Aksum coins were almost pure silver at first later debased. The name is unknown so it is referred to as an AR Unit.

Most bronze and silver coins have mainly been found in Aksum territory, with very few pieces found in Judea, Meroë and Egypt. They are based roughly on the size of older Roman As and Sestertius in shape and thickness. The design also developed like Roman coins in first being good but then the pictures turn archaic and non recognisable. The name is unknown so it is referred to as an Æ diameter in mm Unit, like Æ17 for a coin of 17 mm.

At the time of Aksum's minting of currency, the state already had a long trade history with Greece, Rome, the Persian Empire, and India. That coinage began so late is in fact a little surprising. The late use of coinage may be attributed to the lack of a developed economy, required for coinage to be accepted.[6] Most Aksumite coins were found in the large trade centres with very few in remote villages, where trade would be more through barter and not coinage based.[5] In fact, the motivation for Aksum's initial minting of coins was for foreign trade and markets, as evidenced by the use of Greek on most of its coins.[11] Moreover, gold coins seem to have been intended primarily for external trade, while copper and silver coins probably mainly circulated within the Aksumite empire, as the gold issues generally specified "king of the Aksumites" as title of the Aksumite king, whereas the title of silver and copper issues generally only read "king."[23] International use of Aksumite coins seems to have begun early on, as coins of King Ezana and even of King Aphilas (the second Aksumite ruler to issue coins) have been found in India.[24]

During the 7th century, Aksumite power began to fail, and Ethiopian society began to withdraw further into the highland hinterlands, with the coastal areas becoming peripheral areas (whereas Adulis on the coast was once the second city of Aksum). The coins continued circulation, but were restricted to more local areas such as Nubia, South Arabia and the Horn of Africa.

Due to the nature of the coins (e.g. providing kings' names), they have proved essential in constructing a chronology of the Kings of Aksum. An estimated 98 percent of the city of Aksum[25] remains unexcavated, and other areas even more so. Through analysis of the number of coins produced and the style of coins, archaeologists have been able to construct a rough chronology, generally agreed upon until the late 6th- and 7th-century kings. Of the 20 Aksumite Kings attested by their coins, inscriptions corroborate the existence of only two, who happen to be the most famous kings: Ezana and Kaleb, both of whose reigns were periods of exceptional prosperity during the height of the Aksumite kingdom.[3]

Many coins have been found in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, the central region of Aksum, though Aksumite coins are reported to have been found in Arato and Lalibela.[5] Many coins have been also found further afield. Numerous hoards of coins (always gold save one silver coin) have been found in Southern Arabia, much more than in Aksum itself, attesting perhaps to an Aksumite presence in parts of the region (perhaps supporting the use of titles claiming control over parts of South Arabia from GDRT's time). The hoards may be the remnants of hoards left in Kaleb's time (perhaps used to pay soldiers), when it was under an Aksumite governor. Outside of the Horn of Africa and Arabian Peninsula, coins have been found as far as Israel, Meroe, Egypt, and India.[7][23] Silver and copper coins are mainly found in Aksum, though some can be traced to Palestinian pilgrim centers.[7]

In addition to historical evidence, the coins' use of Ge'ez provides valuable linguistic information. Though rarely used, the vocalization of Ge'ez sometimes employed on Aksumite coins allows linguists to analyze vowel changes and shifts that cannot be represented in the older Semiticabjads such as Hebrew, Arabic, South Arabian, and earlier, unvocalized Ge'ez.[7]

1.
Coin
–
A coin is a small, flat, round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government, Coins are usually metal or alloy, or sometimes made of synthetic materials. Coins made of metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in transactions, circulating alongside banknotes. Usually the highest value coin in circulation is less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain. Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of copper, silver, or gold, while the Eagle, Maple Leaf, and Sovereign coins have nominal face values, the Krugerrand does not. The first coins were developed independently in Iron Age Anatolia and Archaic Greece, India, Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, throughout Greece and Persia, and further to the Balkans. Standardized Roman currency was used throughout the Roman Empire, important Roman gold and silver coins were continued into the Middle Ages. Fiat money first arose in medieval China, with the paper money. Early paper money was introduced in Europe in the later Middle Ages, the penny was minted as a silver coin until the 17th century. The first circulating United States coins were cents, produced in 1793, Coins were an evolution of currency systems of the Late Bronze Age, where standard-sized ingots, and tokens such as knife money, were used to store and transfer value. In the late Chinese Bronze Age, standardized cast tokens were made and these were replicas in bronze of earlier Chinese currency, cowrie shells, so they were named Bronze Shell. According to Aristotle and Pollux, the first issuer of coins was Hermodike of Kyme The earliest coins are associated with Iron Age Anatolia. Early electrum coins were not standardized in weight, and in their earliest stage may have been ritual objects, such as badges or medals, issued by priests. The first Lydian coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of silver, most of the early Lydian coins include no writing, only an image of a symbolic animal. Anatolian Artemis was the Πὀτνια Θηρῶν, whose symbol was the stag, a small percentage of early Lydian/Greek coins have a legend

2.
Kingdom of Aksum
–
The Kingdom of Aksum or Axum, also known as the Aksumite Empire, was a Habasha trading nation in the modern-day area of Eritrea and the Tigray region of Ethiopia. It existed from approximately 100 AD to 940 AD, the Persian Prophet Mani regarded Axum as one of the four great powers of his time, alongside Persia, Rome, and China. The Axumites erected a number of stelae, which served a religious purpose in pre-Christian times. One of these columns is the largest such structure in the world. In the 7th century, early Muslims from Mecca sought refuge from Quraysh persecution by travelling to the kingdom and its ancient capital, also called Aksum, was in northern Ethiopia. The Kingdom used the name Ethiopia as early as the 4th century, tradition claims Axum as the alleged resting place of the Ark of the Covenant and the purported home of the Queen of Sheba. Aksum is mentioned in the 1st-century AD Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as an important market place for ivory, which was exported throughout the ancient world. It states that the ruler of Aksum in the 1st century AD was Zoskales and he is also said to have been familiar with Greek literature. They also cite evidence indicating that the Sabaean settlers resided in the region for more than a few decades. Over 95% of Aksum remains unexplored beneath the city and its surrounding area. The Kingdom of Aksum was an empire centered in Eritrea. It existed from approximately 100–940 AD, growing from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period c. 4th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1st century AD, according to the Book of Aksum, Aksums first capital, Mazaber, was built by Itiyopis, son of Cush. The capital was moved to Aksum in northern Ethiopia. The Kingdom used the name Ethiopia as early as the 4th century, the Empire of Aksum at its height at times extended across most of present-day Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The capital city of the empire was Aksum, now in northern Ethiopia, today a smaller community, the city of Aksum was once a bustling metropolis, cultural and economic center. Two hills and two lie on the east and west expanses of the city, perhaps providing the initial impetus for settling this area. Along the hills and plain outside the city, the Aksumites had cemeteries with elaborate grave stones called stelae, other important cities included Yeha, Hawulti-Melazo, Matara, Adulis, and Qohaito, the last three of which are now in Eritrea. By the reign of Endubis in the late 3rd century, it had begun minting its own currency and was named by Mani as one of the four powers of his time along with Persia, Rome

3.
Eritrea
–
Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. With its capital at Asmara, it is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, the northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has an area of approximately 117,600 km2. Its toponym Eritrea is based on the Greek name for the Red Sea, Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country, with nine recognized ethnic groups in its population of around six million. Most residents speak languages from the Afroasiatic family, either of the Ethiopian Semitic languages or Cushitic branches, among these communities, the Tigrinya make up about 55% of the population, with the Tigre people constituting around 30% of inhabitants. In addition, there are a number of Nilo-Saharan-speaking Nilotic ethnic minorities, most people in the territory adhere to Christianity or Islam. In medieval times much of Eritrea fell under the Medri Bahri kingdom, the creation of modern-day Eritrea is a result of the incorporation of independent, distinct kingdoms and sultanates eventually resulting in the formation of Italian Eritrea. In 1947 Eritrea became part of a federation with Ethiopia, the Federation of Ethiopia, subsequent annexation into Ethiopia led to the Eritrean War of Independence, ending with Eritrean independence following a referendum in April 1993. Hostilities between Eritrea and Ethiopia persisted, leading to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998–2000 and further skirmishes with both Djibouti and Ethiopia, Eritrea is a one-party state in which national legislative elections have been repeatedly postponed. According to Human Rights Watch, the Eritrean governments human rights record is considered among the worst in the world, the Eritrean government has dismissed these allegations as politically motivated. The compulsory military service requires lengthy, indefinite conscription periods, which some Eritreans leave the country in order to avoid, since all local media is state-owned, Eritrea was also ranked as having the least press freedom in the global Press Freedom Index. Eritrea is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, and IGAD, during the Middle Ages, the Eritrea region was known as Medri Bahri. The name Eritrea is derived from the ancient Greek name for the Red Sea and it was first formally adopted in 1890, with the formation of Italian Eritrea. The territory became the Eritrea Governorate within Italian East Africa in 1936, Eritrea was annexed by Ethiopia in 1953 and an Eritrean Liberation Front formed in 1960. Eritrea gained independence following the 1993 referendum, and the name of the new state was defined as State of Eritrea in the 1997 constitution. At Buya in Eritrea, one of the oldest hominids representing a link between Homo erectus and an archaic Homo sapiens was found by Italian scientists. Dated to over 1 million years old, it is the oldest skeletal find of its kind, during the last interglacial period, the Red Sea coast of Eritrea was occupied by early anatomically modern humans. It is believed that the area was on the out of Africa that some scholars suggest was used by early humans to colonize the rest of the Old World

4.
Tigray Region
–
Tigray Region is the northernmost of the nine regions of Ethiopia. Tigray is the homeland of the Tigray, Irob and Kunama people, Tigray is also known as Region 1 according to the federal constitution. Tigray is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, the Afar Region to the east, and the Amhara Region to the south and southwest. Besides Mekele, major cities include Hawzen, Abiy Addi, Alamata, Mekoni, Adigrat, Adwa, Axum, Humera, Korem, Maychew, Qwiha, Shire, Wukro, there is also the historically significant town of Yeha. For the history of the Tigray area prior to 1991, see Tigray Province, at the same time, a growing urban middle class of traders, businessmen and government officials emerged which was both suspicious and distant from the victorious EPRDF. In 1998, war erupted between Eritrea and Ethiopia over a portion of territory that had been administered at part of Tigray, with an estimated area of 41,409.95 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 100 people per square kilometer. In the previous census, conducted in 1994, the Regions population was 3,136,267, of whom 1,542,165 were men and 1,594,102 women, urban inhabitants numbered 621,210 or 14% of the population. According to the CSA, as of 2004,53. 99% of the population had access to safe drinking water. At 96. 55% of the population, the region is predominantly inhabited by the Tigrinya speaking Tigray people. The Tigrinya language is classified as belonging to the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages, most other residents hail from other Afro-Asiatic speaking communities, including the Amhara, Irob, Afar, Agaw and Oromo. There are also a minority of Nilo-Saharan-speaking Kunama Nilotes, the working language is Tigrinya, although most urban people are also able to speak Amharic, which was taught in schools. A distinctive feature of Tigray are its rock-hewn churches, similar in design to those of Lalibela in the Amhara Region, these churches are found in four or five clusters – Gheralta, Teka-Tesfay, Atsbi and Tembien – with Wukro sometimes included. Some of the churches are considered earlier than those of Lalibela, mostly monolithic, with designs partly inspired by classical architecture, they are often located at the top of cliffs or steep hills, for security. For example, Tigrays ancient Debre Damo monastery is only by climbing a rope 25 meters up a sheer cliff. Looting has become an issue in the Tigray Region, as archaeological sites have become sources for construction materials. The area is famous for a single rock sculptured 23 meter long obelisk in Axum as well as for other fallen obelisks, the Axum treasure site of ancient Tigrayan history is a major landmark. Yeha is another important local landmark that is little-known outside the region

5.
Ethiopia
–
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With nearly 100 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and it occupies a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres, and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa. Some of the oldest evidence for modern humans has been found in Ethiopia. It is widely considered as the region from modern humans first set out for the Middle East. According to linguists, the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations settled in the Horn region during the ensuing Neolithic era, tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history. During the first centuries AD, the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region, subsequently, many African nations adopted the colors of Ethiopias flag following their independence. It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations, Ethiopias ancient Geez script, also known as Ethiopic, is one of the oldest alphabets still in use in the world. The Ethiopian calendar, which is seven years and three months behind the Gregorian calendar, co-exists alongside the Borana calendar. A slight majority of the population adheres to Christianity, while around a third follows Islam, the country is the site of the Migration to Abyssinia and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash. A substantial population of Ethiopian Jews, known as Bete Israel, resided in Ethiopia until the 1980s, Ethiopia is a multilingual nation with around 80 ethnolinguistic groups, the four largest of which are the Oromiffa, Amhara, Somali, and Tigrayans. Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the Cushitic or Semitic branches, additionally, Omotic languages are spoken by ethnic minority groups inhabiting the southern regions. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by the nations Nilotic ethnic minorities. Ethiopia is the place of origin for the coffee bean which originated from the place called Kefa and it is a land of natural contrasts, with its vast fertile West, jungles, and numerous rivers, and the worlds hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are Africas largest continuous mountain ranges, and Sof Omar Caves contain Africas largest cave, Ethiopia has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. Ethiopia is one of the members of the UN, the Group of 24, the Non-Aligned Movement, G-77. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ethiopia suffered from civil wars, the country has begun to recover recently however, and now has the largest economy in East Africa and Central Africa. According to Global Fire Power, Ethiopia has the 42nd most powerful military in the world, the origin of the word Ethiopia is uncertain

6.
Sultanate of Mogadishu
–
The Sultanate of Mogadishu was a medieval trading empire in Somalia. It rose as one of the pre-eminent powers in the Horn of Africa during the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries and it was also a vassal state of the Adal Sultanate. With Muslim traders from the Arabian Peninsula arriving c,900, Mogadishu was well-suited to become a regional center for commerce. The name Mogadishu is held to be derived from the Arabic مقعد شاه Maqad Shah, for many years, Mogadishu stood as the pre-eminent city in the بلد البربر Bilad al Barbar, which was the medieval Arabic term for the Horn of Africa. Following his visit to the city, the 12th-century Syrian historian Yaqut al-Hamawi wrote that it was inhabited by dark-skinned Berbers, the Sultanate of Mogadishu developed with the immigration of Emozeidi Arabs, a community whose earliest presence dates back to the 9th or 10th century. This evolved into the Muzaffar dynasty, a joint Somali-Arab federation of rulers, during his travels, Ibn Said al-Maghribi noted that the city had already become the leading Islamic center in the region. By the time of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battutas appearance on the Somali coast in 1331 and he described Mogadishu as an exceedingly large city with many rich merchants, which was famous for its high quality fabric that it exported to Egypt, among other places. Battuta added that the city was ruled by a Somali Sultan, Abu Bakr ibn Sayx Umar, the Sultan also had a retinue of wazirs, legal experts, commanders, royal eunuchs, and other officials at his beck and call. Archaeological excavations have recovered many coins from China, Sri Lanka, the majority of the Chinese coins date to the Song Dynasty, although the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty are also represented, according to Richard Pankhurst. In 1416, Mogadishu sent ambassadors to pay tribute to the Ming dynasty, the Yongle Emperor dispatched Admiral Zheng He to return ambassadors to the Somali city, with Zheng He revisiting Mogadishu along with Barawa in 1430 during his fourth trip. He would also return during his fifth, sixth, and seventh voyages in the Indian Ocean, in the Middle Ages, Mogadishu along with other coastal Somali cities in the south came under the Ajuran Sultanates sphere of influence and experienced another Golden Age. In the 16th century, Duarte Barbosa noted that ships from the Kingdom of Cambaya sailed to Mogadishu with cloths and spices for which they in return received gold, wax. Barbaso also highlighted the abundance of meat, wheat, barley, horses, and fruit on the coastal markets, Mogadishu, the center of a thriving weaving industry known as toob benadir Trading across the Arabian Sea enabled major ports like Mogadishu to prosper during the later Middle Ages. Ross E. Somali merchants from Mogadishu established a colony in Mozambique to extract gold from the mines in Sofala, during the 14th century, Mogadishu established its own Mogadishu currency for its medieval trading empire in the Indian Ocean. It centralized its commercial hegemony by minting coins to facilitate regional trade, the currency bore the names of the 23 successive Sultans of Mogadishu. The oldest pieces date back to 1323-24 and on the front bear the name of Abu Bakr ibn Muhaamad, on the back of the coins, the names of the four Caliphs of the Rashidun Caliphate are inscribed. Other coins were minted in the style of the extant Fatimid. Mogadishan coins were in widespread circulation, pieces have been found as far away as modern United Arab Emirates, where a coin bearing the name of a 15th-century Somali Sultan Ali b

7.
Red Sea
–
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait, to the north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez. The Red Sea is a Global 200 ecoregion, the sea is underlain by the Red Sea Rift which is part of the Great Rift Valley. The Red Sea has an area of roughly 438,000 km2, is about 2250 km long and. It has a depth of 2211 m in the central median trench. However, there are also extensive shallow shelves, noted for their marine life, the sea is the habitat of over 1,000 invertebrate species, and 200 soft and hard corals. It is the worlds northernmost tropical sea, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Red Sea as follows, On the North. The Southern limits of the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, a line joining Husn Murad and Ras Siyyan. Red Sea is a translation of the Greek Erythra Thalassa, Latin Mare Rubrum, Arabic, البحر الأحمر‎. Al-Baḥr Al-Aḥmar‎, Somali Badda Cas and Tigrinya Qeyyiḥ bāḥrī, the name of the sea may signify the seasonal blooms of the red-coloured Trichodesmium erythraeum near the waters surface. A theory favored by modern scholars is that the name red is referring to the direction south. The basis of this theory is that some Asiatic languages used color words to refer to the cardinal directions, herodotus on one occasion uses Red Sea and Southern Sea interchangeably. Historically, it was known to western geographers as Mare Mecca. Some ancient geographers called the Red Sea the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia. C, in that version, the Yam Suph is translated as Erythra Thalassa. The Red Sea is one of four seas named in English after common color terms — the others being the Black Sea, the White Sea and the Yellow Sea. The direct rendition of the Greek Erythra thalassa in Latin as Mare Erythraeum refers to the part of the Indian Ocean. The earliest known exploration of the Red Sea was conducted by ancient Egyptians, one such expedition took place around 2500 BC, and another around 1500 BC. Both involved long voyages down the Red Sea, historically, scholars argued whether these trips were possible

8.
History of Ethiopia
–
The Ethiopian Empire was first founded by Habesha people in the Ethiopian Highlands. One of the earliest kingdoms to rise to power in the territory was the kingdom of Dmt in the 10th century BCE, the Aksumite empire fell into decline with the rise of Islam, forcing the Ethiopians to move south into the highlands for refuge. The Aksumites gave way to the Zagwe Dynasty who established a new capital at Lalibela, during the early Solomonic period Ethiopia went through military reforms and imperial expansion that made it dominate the Horn of Africa. Portuguese missionaries arrived at this time, in 1529, a conquest of Abyssinia by the Somali Muslim Adal Sultanate allied with the Ottoman Empire devastated the highlands, and was only deterred by a Portuguese intervention. With both Ethiopia and Adal greatly weakened by the war, the Oromo people were able to invade into the highlands, conquering the remains of the Adal Sultanate and pushing deep into Ethiopia. The Portuguese presence also increased, while the Ottomans began to push into what is now Eritrea, creating the Habesh Eyalet. A new capital was established at Gondar in 1632, and a period of peace, Ethiopia was reunified in 1855 under Tewodros II, beginning Ethiopias modern history. Ethiopia began to go through a slow modernisation process under a leadership of Yohannes IV, Emperor Yohannes fought and won wars against Egyptians, Italians and Mehadists to keep his people free from foreign invaders. He was killed in action in 1889, under Menelik II Ethiopia defeated an Italian invasion in 1896 and came to be recognised as a legitimate state by European powers. A more rapid modernisation took place under Menelik II and Haile Selassie, the Italian army managed to occupy parts of the country from October 1935-May 1940 under a military occupation. A joint force of British and Ethiopian rebels managed to drive the Italians out of the country in 1941, Haile Selassie was overthrown in 1974 and the militaristic Derg Regime came to power. In 1977 Somalia invaded to try and annex the Ogaden region, but were pushed back by Ethiopian, Soviet, in 1977 and 1978 the government tortured or killed hundreds of thousands of suspected enemies in the Red Terror. After a famine in 1984 killing 1 million people, the Derg fell in 1991, Ethiopia remains impoverished, but its economy has become one of the worlds fastest growing. It was not until 1963 that evidence of the presence of ancient hominids was discovered in Ethiopia, many years after similar such discoveries had been made in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania. The discovery was made by Gerrard Dekker, a Dutch hydrologist, since then many important finds have propelled Ethiopia to the forefront of palaentology. The oldest hominid discovered to date in Ethiopia is the 4.2 million year old Ardipithicus ramidus found by Tim D. White in 1994, lucys taxonomic name, Australopithecus afarensis, means southern ape of Afar, and refers to the Ethiopian region where the discovery was made. Lucy is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years ago, there have been many other notable fossil findings in the country. Near Gona stone tools were uncovered in 1992 that were 2.52 million years old, in 2010 fossilised animal bones, that were 3

9.
First Italo-Ethiopian War
–
The First Italo-Ethiopian War was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from a treaty which, the Italians claimed, turned the country into an Italian protectorate. Full-scale war broke out in 1895, with Italian troops having initial success until Ethiopian troops counterattacked Italian positions and besieged the Italian fort of Meqele, forcing its surrender. Italian defeat came about after the Battle of Adwa, where the Ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered Italians a decisive loss and forced their retreat back into Eritrea. This was not the first African victory over Western colonizers, according to one historian, In an age of relentless European expansion, Ethiopia alone had successfully defended its independence. The Khedive of Egypt Ismail Pasha, Ismail the Magnificent had conquered Eritrea as part of his efforts to give Egypt an African empire, Ismail had tried to follow that conquest with Ethiopia, but the Egyptian attempts to conquer that realm ended in humiliating defeat. Egypt had very much in the French sphere of influence until 1882 when Britain occupied Egypt. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 had turned the Horn of Africa into a strategic region as a navy based in the Horn could interdict any shipping going up. By building naval bases on the Red Sea that could intercept British shipping in the Red Sea, the French hoped to reduce the value of the Suez Canal for the British, and thus lever them out of Egypt. On 3 June 1884, a treaty was signed between Britain, Egypt and Ethiopia that allowed the Ethiopians to occupy parts of Eritrea and allowed the Ethiopian goods to pass in and out of Massawa duty-free. After initially encouraging the Emperor Yohannes IV to move into Eritrea to replace the Egyptians, in 1882, Italy had joined the Triple Alliance, allying herself with Austria and Germany against France. On 5 February 1885 Italian troops landed at Massawa to replace the Egyptians, the Italian government for its part was more than happy to embark upon an imperialist policy to distract its people from the failings in post Risorgimento Italy. To compensate, a chauvinist mood was rampant in Italy with the newspaper Il Diritto writing in an editorial, the year 1885 will decide her fate as a great power. It is necessary to feel the responsibility of the new era, to become again strong men afraid of nothing, with the love of the fatherland, of all Italy. On March 25,1889, the Shewa ruler Menelik II, having conquered Tigray and Amhara, Menelik II continued the policy of Tewodros II of integrating Ethiopia. However, the treaty did not say the same thing in Italian and Amharic. Italian diplomats, however, claimed that the original Amharic text included the clause, moreover, Menelik did not know Italian and only signed the Amharic text of the treaty, being assured that there were no differences between the Italian and Amharic texts before he signed. Francesco Crispi, the Italian Prime Minister was an ultra-imperialist who believed the newly unified Italian state required the grandeur of a second Roman empire, Crispi believed that the Horn of Africa was the best place for the Italians to start building the new Roman empire

10.
Second Italo-Ethiopian War
–
The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a colonial war that started in October 1935, after a battle on 5 December 1934, and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire. The war resulted in the occupation of Ethiopia. Politically, like the Mukden Incident in 1931, the Abyssinia Crisis in 1935 is often seen as a demonstration of the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations. Italy and Ethiopia were member nations and yet the League was unable to control Italy or to protect Ethiopia when Italy clearly violated Article X of the Covenant of the League of Nations, the victory also brought Mussolini unprecedented popularity within Italy. Shortly after the war, Ethiopia was consolidated with Eritrea and Italian Somaliland into Italian East Africa, the Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928 stated that the border between Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia was twenty-one leagues parallel to the Benadir coast. In 1930, Italy built a fort at the Welwel oasis in the Ogaden, the fort at Welwel was well beyond the twenty-one league limit and the Italians were encroaching on Ethiopian territory. In November 1934, Ethiopian territorial troops, escorting the Anglo-Ethiopian boundary commission, the British members of the commission soon withdrew to avoid embarrassing Italy. Italian and Ethiopian troops remained encamped in close proximity, in early December 1934, the tensions on both sides erupted into what was known as the Wal Wal incident. The resultant clash left approximately 110 Ethiopians and between 30 and 50 Italians and Somalis dead and led to the Abyssinia Crisis at the League of Nations, on 4 September 1935, the League of Nations exonerated both parties for the Wal Wal incident. The United Kingdom and France, keen to keep Italy as an ally against Germany, Italy soon began to build its forces on the borders of Ethiopia in Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. To this end, on 7 January 1935, France signed an agreement with Italy giving them essentially a hand in Africa to secure Italian co-operation. Next, in April, Italy was further emboldened by being a member of the Stresa Front, in June, non-interference was further assured by a political rift that had developed between the United Kingdom and France following the Anglo-German Naval Agreement. His comments stirred up a furor inside Japan, where there had been popular affinity for the African Empire, with an attack appearing inevitable, Emperor Haile Selassie ordered a general mobilization of the Army of the Ethiopian Empire. His new recruits consisted of around 500,000 men, some of whom were armed with nothing more than spears, many soldiers carried more modern weapons, including rifles, but many of these were from before 1900 and were outdated. Haile Selassies Mobilization Order stated, All men and boys able to carry a spear go to Addis Ababa, every married man will bring his wife to cook and wash for him. Every unmarried man will bring any unmarried woman he can find to cook, women with babies, the blind, and those too aged and infirm to carry a spear are excused. Anyone found at home after receiving this order will be hanged, according to Italian estimates, on the eve of hostilities the Ethiopians had an army of 350, 000–760,000 men

11.
East African Campaign (World War II)
–
Ethiopian irregulars, the Free French and Belgian troops of the Force Publique also participated. The East African Campaign was the first Allied strategic victory in the war but was overshadowed by the British defeats in Greece and Crete. Italian belligerence also closed the Mediterranean to Allied merchant ships and endangered British supply routes along the coast of East Africa, the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Egypt, the Suez Canal, French Somaliland and British Somaliland were also vulnerable to invasion, in the summer of 1940 Italy was far from ready for a long war or for the occupation large areas of Africa. Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, was appointed Viceroy and Governor-General of the AOI in November 1937, with a headquarters in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. On 1 June 1940, as the commander in chief of Comando Forze Armate dellAfrica Orientale Italiana and Generale dArmata Aerea, Aosta had about 290,476 local, by 1 August, mobilisation had increased the number to 371,053 troops. About 70 percent of Italian troops were locally recruited Askari, the regular Eritrean battalions and the Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali were among the best Italian units in the AOI and included Eritrean cavalry Penne di Falco. Most colonial troops were recruited, trained and equipped for colonial repression, although the Somali Dubats from the borderlands were useful light infantry and skirmishers. Irregular bandes were hardy and mobile, knew the country and were effective scouts and saboteurs, although confused with Shifta. Due to the isolation of the AOI from the Mediterranean, the Italians had very little opportunity for reinforcements or supply, leading to severe shortages, especially of ammunition. On occasion, foreign merchant vessels captured by German merchant raiders in the Indian Ocean were brought to Somali ports, there were 183 first line aircraft and another 140 in reserve, of which 59 were operational and 81 were unserviceable. On the outbreak of war, the CAAOI had 10,700 t of fuel,5,300 t of bombs and 8,620,000 rounds of ammunition. The Italians had reserves for 75% of their strength, but lacked spare parts. The quality of the units varied, the SM.79 was the only modern bomber and the CR.32 fighter was obsolete, but the Regia Aeronautica in East Africa had a cadre of highly experienced Spanish Civil War veterans. The Regia Marina maintained the Red Sea Flotilla at Massawa in Eritrea on the Red Sea, the port was a link between Axis-occupied Europe and the naval facilities in the Italian concession zone in Tientsin in China. There were also limited port facilities at Assab, in Eritrea, the flotilla also had two local defence destroyers, the Orsini and Acerbi, a squadron of five Motoscafo Armato Silurante and eight submarines. When the Mediterranean route was closed to Allied merchant ships in April 1940, Allied convoys had to sail via the Cape and up the east coast of Africa, as Italian fuel supplies in Massawa dwindled, opportunities for the Red Sea Flotilla to attack Allied shipping declined. The British had based forces in Egypt since 1882 but these were reduced by the terms of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936

12.
Ethiopian birr
–
The birr is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. Before 1976, dollar was the official English translation of birr, today, it is officially birr in English as well. Thus, the currency could be considered the Abyssinian birr and the post-1931 currency the Ethiopian birr, although it was the same country. 186 billion birr were in circulation in 2008, in the 18th and 19th centuries, Maria Theresa thalers and blocks of salt called amole tchew served as currency in Ethiopia. The thaler was known locally as the Birr or ታላሪ taleri, the Maria Theresa thaler was officially adopted as the standard coin in 1855, although the Indian rupee and the Mexican dollar were also used in foreign trade. The talari became the unit on 9 February 1893 and 200,000 dollars were produced at the Paris Mint in 1894 for Menelik II. The talari, equivalent to the Maria Theresa thaler, was divided into 20 ghersh or 40 bessa, a new Ethiopian coinage appeared about 1903. The new silver birr maintained the weight and fineness as the old, but there was now a quarter-birr and a silver ghersh. The money of account now became 1 birr =16 ghersh =32 bessa, the Bank of Abyssinia was established in 1905 by Emperor Menelik and the European banking group behind the National Bank of Egypt, the bank was officially inaugurated by Menelik on 15 February 1906. The Ethiopian coinage gained acceptance only gradually, and Bank of Abyssinia imported Maria Theresa thalers, by the time World War One broke out, the bank was still importing about 1,200,000 of these coins annually. Bank of Abyssinia put banknotes into circulation in 1915 and these notes were denominated birr in Amharic and thaler in English. They were used by merchants and by foreigners but were not initially accepted generally, however, Note circulation increased considerably after 1925. Emperor Haile Selassie bought out the Bank of Abyssinia in 1931 for £235,000 in order to make it a purely Ethiopian institution and it was reorganized as Bank of Ethiopia. At the same time, the currency was decimalized and token nickel and copper coins were introduced, the text on the banks notes appeared in Amharic and French. By the mid-1930s circulation consisted chiefly of Maria Theresa and Menelik talari. In an effort to increase the use of Italian paper money, the rate for silver coin was raised to 4.50 lire, then to 5.00. Still, many kept their Ethiopian coins and banknotes. Regular Italian coins and banknotes of Banca dItalia circulated after 15 July 1936, special notes with a red overprint were authorized for Italian East Africa on 12 September 1938, and a large quantity was printed

The Ezana Stone records negus Ezana's conversion to Christianity and his subjugation of various neighboring peoples, including Meroë.

The economically important northern Silk Road and southern Spice (Eastern) trade routes. The sea routes around the horn of Africa and the Indian sub-continent made Aksum an important trading port for nearly a millennium.

The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a colonial war from 3 October …

Italian artillery in Tembien, Ethiopia, in 1936

Medical supplies for the front in Addis Ababa.

Italian soldiers recruited in 1935 in Montevarchi to fight the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.

Italian notice, signed by general Emilio De Bono, proclaiming the abolishment of slavery in Tigray in Italian and Amharic. The abolition of slavery was one of the first measures taken by the Italian colonial government in Ethiopia.